Yellow Flowers Up Close

Episode 79: When Flowers Become Medicine: A Gardener’s Mental Health Journey

Episode 80 Title Image for Flower Therapy

Wit how busy everything is these days, it’s easy to lose touch—with ourselves, with nature, and with the little joys that make life meaningful. In this deeply personal episode of The Flower Files, Lizzie Frey shares how tending the garden has become more than just a job—it’s a form of healing.

Slowing Down: The Garden’s Gift of Stillness

The garden slows you down, not in a punishing way, but with permission. Where the rest of the world demands urgency, flowers take their time. For Lizzie, moments like stopping to admire a sunrise hitting the zinnias became reminders to breathe differently, to live slower, and to honor stillness. In these quiet spaces, the garden becomes a kind of medicine.

Growth Isn’t Linear in the Garden or in Life

One of the most powerful lessons from the soil? Growth isn’t linear. Just like a crooked zinnia stem that still finds its way to bloom, our healing journeys don’t follow straight lines. Some seasons bring setbacks, others unexpected blooms—but all are part of the process. The garden teaches patience, not perfection. Sometimes progress is invisible, like a seed still underground, waiting for the right moment to sprout.

Grounding Through Gardening

Beyond the blooms, gardening becomes an act of grounding. Taking your shoes off and feeling the soil beneath your feet, or kneeling to deadhead a few flowers, can reconnect you to the present moment. The textures, the smells, the sound of bees—they invite you back to now, where your body can settle and your mind can rest.

Resilience Lessons from Nature

Resilience is another quiet teacher in the garden. From pests and frosts to failed crops, nature doesn’t always cooperate. Yet the garden still grows. Lizzie shares how learning to let go—of plants, plans, and expectations—opened space for something new. It’s a powerful metaphor for mental health: some things must be cleared away to make room for better things.

Finding Joy in Small Moments

And then there’s joy. The first tomato. The scent of basil. A dahlia blooming in two perfect colors. These small, fleeting joys are what the garden gives in abundance—if we’re paying attention. Mental health, Lizzie reminds us, is often sustained by these tiny sparks of delight.

Flowers as Connection and Community

Finally, the garden connects us. Giving a bouquet to a neighbor, seeing someone’s face light up at the market, or sharing garden tips with a curious customer—these moments build community, nurture connection, and remind us we’re not alone.

How to Start Healing Through Gardening

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or disconnected, here are a few simple ways to begin:

  • Plant one thing. Even a single pot of basil on a windowsill counts.
  • Create a ritual. Water your plants at the same time each day as a grounding practice.
  • Make it sensory. Notice textures, scents, and colors to stay present.
  • Share your harvest. A single bloom or stem can brighten someone else’s day—and yours too.

Ready to Let Your Garden Heal You?

The lessons of the garden are clear: patience, resilience, presence, joy, and connection. Every time you dig, water, or harvest, you’re not just nurturing plants—you’re tending to yourself.

Now it’s your turn:

  • Share with us what your garden has taught you
  • Pass this post along to a friend who could use a reminder to slow down.
  • Start small—plant one seed, notice one bloom, and let the healing begin.

Because when flowers become medicine, the garden becomes more than a space to grow—it becomes a space to heal.

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Group photo of the team behind Wildly Native Flower Farm, standing in the flower field together smiling at the camera

We're Wildly Native.

Located on the beautiful Eastern Shore of Maryland, Wildly Native Flower Farm is a small (but ever growing!) family-owned flower farm and florist with a big vision, where it takes everyone working together to create success.

We connect with all of our products from literally the ground up, and love seeing every bloom that we grow find its way into someone’s home and heart!  So when you schedule a time to visit with us, we’ll walk our fields together and experience all of the scents, textures, colors, and more that a flower farm has to offer.  It is such a unique experience for brides, plant lovers, gardeners, nature enthusiasts, and all-around environmentally focused folks!

Providing locally grown and hand-picked seasonal florals in the peak of bloom is the foundation of who we are – whether for your wedding, a birthday, or just because!

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